I'd definitely have to try and convince you otherwise. I taught in Istanbul for two years and loved it. The people are great, the food is great (until you hit that certain point where every day you feel like "didn't I just have the same thing yesterday?), and the Bosphorous is unbeatable.

Granted, there are some negatives. I always found it difficult to get out of the city (easier if you have the cash to fly or to hire a car). It's not always the most efficient place, either

Scot47, your location lists Various Provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Well, if you're at all interested in Byzantine and Ottoman history, Istanbul's the place to be. Constantinople's alive and well, just takes some searching.

I think you get a different pespective when you live here. Visiting as a tourist I was awed by the crumbling ruins, mosques and hustle-bustle of the streets. It was a very appealing atmosphere.

Now I've lived here for five years, in a regular district, it's more pot-holes, rubbish and traffic. As anywhere will, once you get used to a place the romanticism wears thin. Istanbul's still not a bad city to live in and I know many things I'll miss when I leave - being close to the sea, the slackness of the regulations, the moderate climate, etc.